Counterweight with fascia design of functional door

ABSTRACT

A horizontal mount laundry treatment machine having a housing and a drum inside the housing, the drum defining a treatment chamber configured to spin laundry placed therein. A front ring assembly surrounds an opening of the treatment chamber. At least one counterweight is mounted to the front ring assembly or positioned between a front surface of the front ring assembly and a fascia that substantially covers the front ring assembly.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

Laundry treatment machines, such as automatic washing machines, include a tub suspended within a housing, wherein laundry placed therein is treated, e.g., washed. Generally, the tub is a cylindrical structure defining a cylindrical treatment chamber. The tub may be mounted horizontally within the housing (a “horizontal mount” machine), in which case the treatment chamber is accessed through an opening in a front end of the treatment chamber through a door mounted on the front side of the laundry treatment machine. Washer/dryer combo machines (i.e., a single machine in which a load of laundry is both washed and dried in the same treatment chamber) are normally configured as horizontal mount machines as described above.

Horizontal mount machines typically include counterweights to ballast the drum when the treatment chamber spins about its longitudinal axis, such as during a spin cycle. Counterweights may be made from a variety of materials, such as concrete, steel, and other dense materials. It is known to attach counterweights to the top and bottom of the outer surface of the drum. Attaching counterweights to the top and bottom on the drum of a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine, while effective, requires additional space between the outer wall of the drum and the housing to account for the upper and lower counterweights.

Therefore, the inventors hereof have identified a need, particularly in view of trends toward the demand for larger treatment chambers (and therefore drums) and the inclusion of additional components inside of the housing of laundry treatment machines, especially washer/dryer combo machines, to position counterweights at locations other than the top and bottom of the outside surface of the drum.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

A laundry treatment machine is disclosed. The laundry treatment machine has a housing and a cylindrical drum horizontally mounted inside of the housing. The drum defines a treatment chamber and an opening through which to place laundry in the treatment chamber. The laundry treatment machine further has a front ring assembly surrounding the outer periphery of the opening to the treatment chamber and at least one counterweight. In one embodiment, the at least one counterweight is mounted to the front ring assembly. In another embodiment, the at least one counterweight is positioned between a front surface of the front ring assembly and a front fascia.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine.

FIG. 2a illustrates a side view of a known drum of a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine showing counterweights mounted on the top and bottom of the drum.

FIG. 2b illustrates a top view of the drum in FIG. 2a , showing one of the counterweights mounted to the top of the drum.

FIG. 2c illustrates a bottom view of the drum in FIG. 2c , showing one of the counterweights mounted to the bottom of the drum.

FIG. 3 illustrates an isolated view of the drum and door of a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an isolated view of the front ring assembly of the drum illustrated in FIG. 3 without the front fascia, showing counterweights mounted to the front ring assembly.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the front ring assembly of FIG. 3 showing both the front ring assembly and the front fascia.

FIG. 6 is a magnified view of the upper and lower portions of the front ring assembly and front fascia shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 generally illustrates a horizontal mount laundry treatment machine 10, such as a washer or washer/dryer combo. The laundry treatment machine 10 includes a housing 12 and a drum 28 defining a treatment chamber 18 suspended within the housing 12. A front ring assembly (not visible in FIG. 1) surrounds the opening to the treatment chamber 18. A fascia 20 covers the front ring assembly. The fascia 20 may be a unitary circular component. A door 22, having a handle 24, is connected to the front ring assembly (which is positioned behind fascia 20) by hinge 26. A display 34 may be disposed on the front of the housing 12.

FIGS. 2a-2c illustrate a side view, top view and bottom view, respectively, of a drum 28 as configured in a known horizontal mount laundry treatment machine. Notably, the drum includes a bottom counterweight 40 mounted to the bottom of the drum 28 and a top counterweight 42 mounted to the top of the drum 28.

FIG. 3 illustrates a drum 28 and a door 22 of a laundry treatment machine according to an embodiment of the invention. The drum 28 includes a front ring assembly (not visible) covered by a fascia 20. The fascia 20 may be a unitary circular component. Door 22 is connected to the front ring assembly by hinge 26.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustration of the front ring assembly 44 of the drum 28 shown in FIG. 3, with the fascia 20 removed. Counterweights 46 a and 46 b are mounted or fastened to the front surface of front ring assembly 44. Upper counterweights 46 a are mounted or fastened to the upper portion of the front ring assembly 44, and lower counterweights 46 b are mounted to the lower portion of front ring assembly 44.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustration of the front ring assembly 44 shown in FIG. 4 and the front fascia 20. FIG. 6 is a magnified view of the upper portion and lower portion of the front ring assembly 44 and front fascia 20 shown in FIG. 5. As illustrated in both FIGS. 5 and 6, upper counterweights 46 a and lower counterweights 46 b are positioned between the front ring assembly 44 and the front fascia 20. Counterweights 46 a and 46 b are shown mounted or fastened to front ring assembly 44.

Though not illustrated, it is also contemplated and within the scope of this disclosure to attach the upper and lower counterweights 46 a and 46 b to the front fascia 20 (instead of the front ring assembly 44), still maintaining the same position of the counterweights between the front ring assembly 44 and the front fascia 20.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A laundry treatment machine, comprising: a housing; a cylindrical drum horizontally mounted inside of the housing, the drum defining a treatment chamber and having an opening to the treatment chamber through which to place laundry, the cylindrical drum being configured to spin laundry placed in the treatment chamber; a front ring assembly surrounding the outer periphery of the opening to the treatment chamber; a front fascia substantially covering the front ring assembly; and at least one counterweight positioned between a front surface of the front ring assembly and the front fascia.
 2. The laundry treatment machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one counterweight is mounted to the front ring assembly.
 3. The laundry treatment machine of claim 2, wherein the at least one counterweight comprises at least one upper counterweight mounted to an upper portion of the front ring assembly and at least one lower counterweight mounted to a lower portion of the front ring assembly.
 4. The laundry treatment machine of claim 1, wherein the at least one counterweight is mounted to the fascia.
 5. The laundry treatment machine of claim 4, wherein the at least one counterweight comprises at least one upper counterweight mounted to an upper portion of the fascia and at least one lower counterweight mounted to a lower portion of the fascia.
 6. The laundry treatment machine of claim 1, wherein the fascia is a unity piece.
 7. A laundry treatment machine, comprising: a housing; a cylindrical drum horizontally mounted inside of the housing, the drum defining a treatment chamber and having an opening to the treatment chamber through which to place laundry, the cylindrical drum being configured to spin laundry placed in the treatment chamber; a front ring assembly surrounding the outer periphery of the opening to the treatment chamber; and at least one counterweight mounted to the front ring assembly.
 8. The laundry treatment machine of claim 7, wherein the at least one counterweight comprises at least one upper counterweight mounted to an upper portion of the front ring assembly and at least lower counterweight mounted to a lower portion of the front ring assembly.
 9. The laundry treatment machine of claim 7, wherein the at least one counterweight is mounted to a front surface of the front ring assembly. 